And george j



E. C. MURDOCH AND G. J. KELLY.

PYROPHORIC GAS IGNITER.

APPLICATION FILED APR.21. 1915. RENEWED IAN. 10.19!!!- 1 ,3 1 2,862 Patented Aug. 12, 1919.

BIA PLANOGRAPII c0 WASHINGTON D c EVERETT c. MURZDOCH,

on BERKELEY, cALIEoEnIA, AND eEoEeE KELLY, 0E HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS, v

PYROPHQRIC GAS-IGNITER. f

Application filed April 21, 1915, Serial No. 22,925. neneweuanfiar io', 1919. Seria1No. 270,590.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatwe, EVERETT C. MUR- DOGH and GEORGE J :KEILYfCltlZeIlS of the United States, residingat Berkeley, in the county of Alameda and State of California, and at Haverhillfin the county, of Essex and State of Massachusetts, respectively,

have invented an Improvement in Pyrophoric Gas-Igniters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improve.- ments in pyrophoric gas-igniters, and, more particularly to those of the so-called. tongs type, in which a U-shaped spring frame is provided, one ofthe arms thereof having'a transversely disposed file mounted on the end thereof, and the other having a renewable holder forthe ,pyrophoric, alloy connected thereto, in position to press the alloy against the file surface, so'that, as the (pressed together, the .alloy' two arms'are to form the sparks, sa d renewal. I I V Prior to our invention it has been customary to em 'loy a form" of renewal Whlch.

' consists o a tubular nipple of brass, into one end of which a small cylindrical piece is 'fitted, so that it projects of the allo lie other end of the nipple being therefrom, t

either internally screw-threaded, to receive a correspondingly threaded end-portion on' the arm, or being formed. to fit tightly on suchend-portion, so that it willbe held in this position, but may beremoved. This form of holding means for thealloy is undesirabefor several reasons, particularly in that practically only the portion of the alloy which projects beyond the end of the brass nipple, can be used, for the reasonthat, as.

soon as the alloy becomes :worn down to the end of the nipple, the relatively hard metal of the tube prevents engagement thereof with the file to'an extent sufficient to produce the desired spark, and repeated attempts to produce a spark would soon wear out the file. As a result, a piece of the alloy of substan tial size is unused, and, as'the alloy is expensive, and only about three-fourthslof it is used, the item of loss'is important." The alloy is also extremely brittle and largeparticles are frequently chipped off at the sides thereof, the greater the distance which it projects beyond the sleeve in which it is inserted, the greater being the liability that this well occur. Also, in order that a sufliciently. rigid connection may be made be-Y Specification of Letters mat. J i i Pa t ted Aug. 12, 1919." 7

screwed onto the arm. with some force, it"isI difficult to unscrew it with the fingers, making it necessary to use an implement/to remove the alloy holder. 7 v

The obj ect of our invention-is to provide a means for supporting'the' pyrophorie alloy,

on the end of the armof a .gas-igniter, of the character abovereferred to, in such a inanner that practically allfof the alloy may be used'before it becomes necessary to supply: a new piece of alloy,,and, to provide a form.

of holder for the alloy, which isjadapted to be supplied'as a renewal, and which may be made at small expense, and, further, to i l provide a form of connection therefor which will securely retain the'holder in position and enables it to be renewed without theiuse of tools, under practically all conditions.

fWe. accomplish these obj ectsby the means shown in the which V Figures 1' and 2 are respectivelyv an edge elevation and a bottom plan view ofapyroaccompanying drawing, in

phoric gas-igniter, of the ton'gsl type, and.

provided with our invention. p

Figs, 3 and 6 aredetail views of the alloyholding means on an enlarged scale, Fig. 3

being a sectional view, Fig. 4, a disassembled side elevation, and-"Figs; end vi'ewsof the renewal.

In the drawing adridi'c'ates the" U-shaped frame having the usual arms a, of, the arm (Ii/bearing the transversely disposed file b, and'the arm a having an upturned end'a on which the pyrophoric alloy holding means is mounted. 1 According to our invention, we provide an externally threaded sleeve, 0, p which ismounted on the upturned end a of the arm a and is rigidly connected thereto by anysuitable means, as by soldering, the particular form of permanent connection being. im-

5 andfi side and material; A coupling-ring dis adapted to be threaded on the sleeve 0, and is provided with an inwardly extending, annular lip d. A cylindrical metal cup 6, having a flat bottom and a projecting annular base flange e, is provided, said cup being preferably of magnesium and having its cavity formed to receive a cylindrical piece of cerium-iron alloy f, which is tightlyfitted therein, the side walls of the cup being thin, and its diameter, above its flange a being such that it fits closely, but freely in the aperture formed at the inner edge of the lip cl. A flat face is formed on the top of the sleeve 0 on which-the bottom of the cup 6 rests, and, to connect the cup to the arm a it is merely necessary to pass the ring 03 over the cup and screw it onto the sleeve 0, so that its lip d engages the flange e and clamps the cup firmly onto the face thereof, as shown in Fig. 3, the greater portion of the cup. thus projecting beyond the top of the ring. The depth of the cup e is such that, when it is clamped in position, as above described, its bottom is a short distance above the top of the ring (5, and the alloy f is forced into the cup until it bears against said bottom, the alloy thus being held entirely in the projecting portion of the cup, and its outer end being, preferably, flush with its edge. The walls of the cup are of thin "metal, and, as above stated, the metal employed is magnesium, the hardness of which is substantially less than that of the alloy and is, therefore, adapted to be cut.

away by the file more readily than the alloy. The metal of the cup will thus be worn downas'fast. as the alloy, and will act to hold the alloy in position and prevent it from being broken off in large chips, while this is taking place. This action will continue until the -sides of the cup and the alloy are worn down to the bottom of the cavity,

and the alloy is thus practically all used,

and when this occurs, a new cup containing.

the alloy, or cartridge, will, be substituted as will be obvious.

The above-described construction is' advantageous, not only because the construction makes it possible to use all, the'alloy, but because it enables the provision of a pyrophoric renewaldevice which may be madev at small expense as the whole cup may be stamped out of metal, so that practically no machine work is required, and the cut.- ting of a thread, therein is unnecessary. The coupling-ring is also of suflicient size to enable it to be readily unscrewed and re turned in its place without the useof. tools.

and having an inwardly extending, annular lip, and a pyrophoric-alloy-holder oficylindrical form, extended through saidring and seated on said face, said holder having a laterally projecting, annular flange arranged in position to be engaged by said lip to clamp said holder on said face.

3. In a pyrophoric igniter, an externally threaded support, a coupling ring threaded on said support and having an inwardly extending lip, and an alloy-receiving cup seated on said support and extending through said ring, said cup having a lateral projection at its base engaged by said lip, tohold said cup in position on said support.

4,. In a pyrophoric igniter, an externally threaded support having a face at one end, a coupling ring threaded on said support and having an inwardly extending lip, and a cylindrically shaped holder arranged to extend through and project beyond said ring, and having a lateral projection arranged to be engaged by said lip to clamp said holder against said face, the projecting portion of said holder having a pyrophoric-alloy-re- EVERETT c. MUEnooHJ GEO. J KELLY.

Witnesses: LOUIS H. HARRIMAN, CHARLEs H. PooR.

flop ies o1 thispatent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

